Despite recent statistics, there are companies leading the corporate world with women at the helm. Leading this group of women is one who has excelled against all the obstacles facing women in the corporate world. Anya Schnoor. Senior vice-president, Wealth Management Division, Scotiabank Group, and chief executive officer, Scotia DBG, Schnoor is one of the youngest CEOs in the world of finance. Schnoor grew up in Brown’s Town, St Ann and holds a BA in Finance and International Management from Florida International University, United States.

In an interview with the Flair magazine in 2008, she revealed that her knack for investments was innate. She recalls in school forming a treasury club with her friends where they pooled their lunch money to buy a particular toy or something that they needed at the end of the week. However, after graduating from St Hilda’s Girls school in Brown’s Town, St Ann, Schnoor began studying computer science at Florida International University. Eventually, she answered her true calling and veered back into financial services.

2008 was an exceptional year for Anya Schnoor. With an October year end, 2008 was a very profitable year for the company. Net Interest Revenue was $7.6 billion allowing the company to churn out Net Profits of $JA1.23 billion in true Scotia style. The company’s stock has become one of the most sought after given its growth trajectory and business lines. As a part of the larger Scotia Group, the company benefits tremendously from business generated in Canada as well as the management and development of its wealth management arm. Stockholders’ Equity stood at $5.77 billion at the end of 2008, with total funds under management topping at $96.79 billion. EPS for 2008 was $2.93 compared with $1.83 for 2007. Net Book Value per share was $13.64.

Scotia DBG is by far one of the cheapest blue chip stocks currently listed whose inherent value is not yet tapped.

This exceptional performance was achieved in a period of tremendous financial turmoil, both locally and overseas. During 2008 the global financial system experienced a meltdown resulting first from the sub-prime mortgage collapse in the United States and then ultimately spreading across the globe, leading to a virtual freeze in worldwide credit markets. This credit freeze inevitably affected the local financial system leading to instability in the interest rate and foreign exchange markets in the latter half of 2008.

Despite these challenges Anya Schnoor was able to focus the coompany on its business strategies and moved to establish its position as the leading wealth management provider in Jamaica.

To accomplish this goal she focused the company on the following key objectives:

• The rebranding of DB&G to Scotia DBG Investments Ltd. in April 2008 was a key milestone. This new name signified to all stakeholders the association with the powerful Scotiabank brand and allowed it to benefit from greater synergies across a renowned international franchise.

• Established 19 additional distribution points across the island in Scotiabank branches to gain the widest service network available locally.

• Launched a new and exciting website with innovative features allowing existing and potential clients to stay informed by blogging with service agents and getting instant answers to their queries.

• Focused on operational efficiencies and looked for opportunities to consolidate functions and remove unnecessary overheads in order to improve productivity levels, which moved from 56.56% of revenue at the end of October 2007 to 40.85% at the end of October 2008.

• Focused on leadership training and key talent selection and invested in her team.

Neville Spike, Business Writer for the Gleaner in an article published in 2008 described Anya Schnoor as a modern banker with old-fashioned values. In the article Schnoor, 37 at the time was quoted as saying “Your integrity is critical in the banking-finance sector. When someone works hard and gives their money to an institution to manage, it’s based on trust that you will make the best decision on their behalf. My career to date has been built on the fact that I am trusted and that I will make the best decision on behalf of clients. Grandfather Hans used to say that in life there are two things nobody can take away from you: your education and your reputation. ‘Guard them both’ he would say. I have never forgotten this advice.”

Eagle’s collapse

Schnoor started as a management trainee with Eagle Unit Trust in 1992, later rising to become general manager between 1994 and 1998. At the height of the financial crisis in the 1990s, Eagle Unit Trust – part of the failed Eagle group – was among a handful of companies that survived the near collapse of the sector with their reputation intact. When the Eagle Group eventually collapsed in 1997, the unit trust was one of the few entities in the group that was still making a profit. In the end, it was sold to DB&G. In 1998, Anya was snapped up by the Pan Caribbean Financial Group., She worked with the group until 2006, when she was head-hunted by Scotiabank to take charge of its wealth management business. Shortly after her arrival, the bank acquired the high profile DB&G and gave it to Schnoor to run.

“Anya is bright, articulate and a natural leader,” says Keith Duncan CEO of Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited (JMMB) and immediate past president of the Jamaica Securities Dealers’ Association (JSDA). “I have known her for 10 years and you don’t find too many people who are as capable and hardworking.”
Her directness and skills have earned admiration among her peers.
Eva Lewis, a vice-president and head of Capital Markets
Citibank NA, describes Schnoor as “a professional with deep knowledge of the financial industry”.

“I enjoyed working with Anya on the executive committee of the Primary Dealers Association in the ’90s,” said Lewis. ”

As a woman, Schnoor has definitely paid her dues. She is quoted as saying that “Early in my career, there were prejudices. I had the extra burden of being a woman and I had to give 12 or 14 hours to a 10-hour job.” But all that has paid off, leaving her with an impressive track record which has put her at the top of her game.
Her only wish is that her father was alive to see all she has achieved. “My father died when I was very young and I’m proud of the things I’ve been able to achieve without compromising or losing my integrity. I have achieved what he would have wanted me to.”

2009 promised to be a year of new challenges and the effects of the global recession were being felt in all areas of the local economy. Despite the expected challenges presented by this, Anya remarked that “ It was important that we focus on the core principals of risk management and cost efficiency, while continuing to look for opportunities to grow our business. These are the core strengths that have made the Scotiabank Group 176 years strong and they are the guiding principals we use in your company today”. BM